Alibaba financial services subsidiary Ant Financial says it is interested in expanding to Japan; the financial services firm has been expanding in the Eastern World with ventures in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia The Philippines and Korea; it already has plans to double the number of Japanese stores that accept Alipay to more than 45,000 this year; while further details on an expansion timeline have not been released, a spokesperson for the firm has said, "In Japan, there is a strong need of financial services from small and micro enterprises, and Ant is willing to share its standards and experience with local partners." Source
Ant Financial is planning to raise $3 billion primarily through a debt offering to finance its acquisition of MoneyGram; it is also planning for future acquisitions; the company has been valued at $75 billion and is still planning a near-term initial public offering. Source
Speaking at the Development High-Level Forum, CEO Eric Jing called Blockchain, “the cornerstone of trust for the digital society in the future.”; while Jing is bullish on the long term outlook for blockchain technology he also curbed enthusiasm stating that it isn’t ready for a “large-scale outbreak”, comparing the current speculation similar to the internet bubble; he also shared that the technology will be more applicable in the next 2-3 years and that there were still some challenges to overcome. Source
Ant Financial recently raised an oversubscribed $10bn round which values the firm higher than Goldman Sachs, American Express and BlackRock;...
Ant Financial owns the world’s largest money market fund and has just struck a joint venture with the Shanghai subsidiary...
Klarna is a well known fintech company in the buy now, pay later space; Ant Financial now has reportedly taken...
Ant Financial is planning to resubmit its application for U.S. review of its deal to buy MoneyGram International Inc for $1.2 billion, a source familiar with the matter said; Ant’s latest attempt for approval would be its third as the maximum time of 75 days for assessing such applications nears completion; CFIUS is a secretive government panel which reviews acquisitions by foreign entities for potential national security risks. Source
In an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ant Financial's CEO Eric Jing talked about his plans for growth in payments and blockchain; firm is targeting two billion users by 2027; says it will more deeply integrate blockchain and artificial intelligence. Source
Alibaba's fintech arm, Ant Financial, is looking to increase their Asian market share before taking on more expansion plans worldwide; while at an event in Thailand to launch a partnership with payment firm Ascend, senior company officials explained the current focus is on 370 million people in Asia without bank accounts; in addition to the Thailand partnership, the company partnered with India's PayTM last year and has secured licenses to operate in Hong Kong; according to Senior Vice President, Douglas Feagin, there were no set plans or venue for a potential initial public offering, though there were benefits to going public. Source
Ant Financial’s Yu’E Bao fund has shrunk to its lowest size in over two years as the government looks to downsize...